Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1887-10-22
The chlldran 1ndnorn

he woodbox VIII prove a good plav.
Thing II Il Is full Of s,iel,s snI,1 3,
round 81 diiieret kinds Of wood. Lei
lhe l''tle folks take ont the sticks. one
by one, and bring them To Won Ia
name. oilnui, oak. maple. birch,
oeacli' elm, hemioek, aud ash wood
may DO IN that pile ia the box. and
even the little six-year-old can easily be
taught to detect and correctly name
some OF the varieties. The smooth,
notified bark Of the beach, the ragged
shfeds OF the yellow and gray birch.
ana The color and crystal beads Of pitch
gum OF the pine and hemIock when In
round sticks. Sections of limbs are
sure guides Of their kind, and easy to
name but not SO always when the
wood - In split sticks. without a tell
tale hslf-inch Of bark surface.
Perhaps you cannot tell a chip OF
maple wood from elm or beach. II so,
you can study the contents Of the wood
box and chip basket with your chill
dren. Tell them elm wood and sound
rock maple and oak wood. whether in
split or round sticks. seldom snap when
burning. and are comparatively safe
for night fires in open. deep fireplaces.
Tell them If they want to burn big
holes ID mammals carpets and rugs TO
lay butternut and poplar and soft pine,
cedar or hemlock on the open fire and
then let the sticks pop live Goals right
and left as well as straight ahead from
the CRATE.
Tell them an old nurse, many years
ago. burned house and seven poor
people init one night beca use she could
not tell one kind Of wood from anoth-
or. She rolled great backlog of
butternut wood on TO the andirons of
the big fireplace one evening for q
night fire to keep warm little new
baby and lis mother. believing the log
was Of elm wood. and when they were
all asleep live coal snapped out and
burned and smoldered away in the
floor tall Il blazed into fierce tapping
flames that reared and rushed so terri
bly, swift that, all the people up stairs
were burned in their beds.
once saw woman camp down one
night on thick cotton comfortable
| spread before an open CRATE. while
watching with sick child. She knew
so little about wood she thought one
kind was as safe rs another. and did
no, think The poplar sticks she had just
laid on the fire would snap and throw
Goals, but they did, and Il the child had
not reused with the dense smudge OF
burning cotton. no doubt the smolder-
ing pun would soon have blazed aud
done terrible mischief
! know little boy who has a box
fnl Of sections Of different woods. He
Is always on the lookout for a new
specimen and has bit Of every kind
Of tree or shrub he can find in his
fathers's fields and woods. When Wis.
ilors come be delights 10 shown 6
Thorn his collection Of woods, and in
having them puzzle over the pretty
cubes and cylinders OF wood. and II
they mistake akind he is quick to know
I IL
This indoor study OF chips and wood
brought In 10 eplcnish winter fires will
nmuse the children when time hangs
heavy, and by close notice Of bark and
iiber and grain and smell and color and
slivering Of wood they viii soon learn
TO detect the common kinds from each
other. and perhaps. wake to such AT
Interest ia the studg. that when summer
time comes again. they will commence
collection OF native woods. and The
green growing trees aud shrubs wal
bear to them new keen interest. =
Cgayissa Potter "a Good HoEsekeep-
iag.